Rally: Sébastien Ogier lands season's fifth win in Finnish forests

By
Antoine Cremer ,
2013-08-03

Frenchman Sébastien Ogier (Volkswagen) extended his lead in the World Rally Championship (WRC) by winning his fifth event of the season, in the forests of Finland.

Ogier seemed less than his usual dominant at the start of the rally, sharing the lead with as many as three other drivers on the first day of action. But as rivals Mads Ostberg (Ford), Thierry Neuville (Ford) and Mikko Hirvonen (Citroën) ran into problems of their own, the championship leader disappeared in the distance.

Sébatien Ogier, Volkswagen Polo R WRC (Photo: VW Motorsport)

Aboard his Polo R WRC, he crossed the finnish line in Jybaskyla some 36 seconds ahead of Neuville, who climbed on the second step of the podium for a second consecutive rally.

Ostberg, who went off the road near the end of the event, had to settle for third because of his mistake, but nevertheless beat Hirvonen, the fourth and last driver of the leading quartet to reach the end.

Kris Meeke was quick aboard Sébastien Loeb's Citroën DS3, until eventually flipping the nine-time champion's mount. Fifth place therefore went to Dani Sordo, in the third Citroën.